


Skye, Grant, and the forest

by Bacner



Series: A better universe. [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other Animals - Freeform, Some Fantasy, Some Humor, Viper - Freeform, forest, owl - Freeform, sunset
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23584531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bacner/pseuds/Bacner
Summary: Skye wants to see an actual owl; Grant helps.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Grant Ward
Series: A better universe. [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678087
Kudos: 7





	Skye, Grant, and the forest

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything here.

…The sun was quietly going down to the line of the horizon, as the day was giving way to dusk, and the sun was setting now for real. Some of the year’s first dragonflies were flying over the lawn, (it was not that far from the local lake, not given how good a flyer a dragonfly is). Skye, as she and Grant were sitting on the front porch and enjoying the view, heard some bird or small mammal cry-out “Scree! Scree! Scree!” but with a surprising regularity, not unlike the ticking of a clock.

Since Skye slash Daisy was a curious young woman, she reached out, just with her powers, and the strange little critter fled or flown the coup.

Skye slash Daisy blinked and looked at Grant.

“It’s a local scops owl, also known as the screech owl,” the latter shrugged. “It’s a small owl – no bigger than a robin or a starling, I would say.”

“Of course,” Skye rolled her eyes sarcastically. “And it probably looks like a robin or a starling as well. I’ve seen robins and they look nothing like owls-“

“Yes, and this one looks like a little feathered imp, or maybe a great horned owl, cut down to a robin’s size,” Grant shrugged. “All owls look a little like each other, that’s why they’re owls!”

“Well, can we go and see this owl?” the InHuman hacktivist turned agent got onto her feet and began to walk into the evening forest, where shadows lay like thick black bars on the ground and the treetops were still gilded by the setting sun. “Or are you too tired-“

“Yes, but since your plan probably involves your powers I don’t want to see the local forest laid bare and flat to the ground,” Grant joined his partner as her firmly wrapped one of his arms around her. “So, we’ll have to take it slow-“

Skye shifted and tickled Grant in the ribs, causing him to stumble. Since he did not relent his grip, the pair fell together to the ground and rolled across, (as it was uneven), startling the local butterflies, (which were just coming down to sleep), into taking to the air instead, feeling very indignant over the entire thing. 

Skye and Grant ignored them. They rolled off the S.H.I.E.L.D.’s impromptu lawn and into the forest proper, where they finally stopped, disentangled from each other, and just lay there, eyes staring upwards into the ever-darkening sky, tired, sweaty, and happy.

“It would still be nice to see the owl,” Skye muttered petulantly, as she wiped away some of her stray curls from her forehead. “This is nice and all, but, still, owl! I’m a city girl, I never saw much owls, even zoos or museums-“

“Well,” Grant muttered, as he actually prevented Skye from securing a position on top of him as she ever so slyly tried to, “maybe we should take the long route here, starting with the snake over there-“

There was a brief pause in discussion, as Skye stopped trying to mount Grant and instead started to climb onto his head and shoulders instead, not unlike a cat confronted by a bear, (or Melinda May confronted by Brock Rumlow – the Cavalry once tangled with the man who would become Crossbones one day and didn’t enjoy it at all). Since Grant actually took pity on her and just picked her up into his arms, scooping her off the ground, she succeeded – in a manner of speaking.

“Can I blast it now?” she muttered, as the two of them eyed the reptile in question – a long and thin thread of a snake, moving through the grass, minding its own business, hardly noticeable on the ground in the evening’s shaky light…

“Skye,” Grant just sighed as he eyed a snake in a particular way, (not that Skye was in the right position to see it). “Let’s try something different, here. Good evening, mistress snake! This is Skye slash Daisy Johnson. I am sure that Raina told you all about her in one of her rants. Can you help us find the local scops owl, the clock of the night?”

The snake actually stopped and flicked its forked tongue a couple of times, before vanishing into the dark grass.

“Well, this was stupid, and childish,” Skye muttered… but did not attempt to get down onto the ground from Ward. “Also, did you tell me off nicely-?”

She didn’t finish as the snake emerged not far from them, next to some stump that neither Skye not Grant had noticed, (or at least – not paid attention to this time), and emitted a long, piercing hiss before crawling under it.

There was some noise beneath it, and from beneath the stump, burst out not a snake, but a lizard, a big green lizard with a blue, pointed head. As Skye and Grant stared at it, the lizard raced across the ground, until it found someone else’s burrow and went into it. A pause, a sudden silence after the scurrying… and a blunt-nosed vole, a cousin of the field mouse, fled from its burrow, seemingly evicted by the lizard.

…As Grant and Skye continued to watch, the vole fled beneath some fallen log, and there was noise once more, as a pair of squirrel-like rodents, (possibly the local version of the FitzSimmons), burst from beneath of the log and up a tree. 

The pair raced upwards, parallel to each other, towards some hole in the trunk. They collided with each other at the hole in question, and with frightened, pained squeaks fell inside, into the hole.

And out of the hole…

In a burst of indignation and feathers…

Emerged… a little feathered forest imp.

It landed at a nearest branch, whirled around in a completely owlish manner…and indeed, it was the scops owl that Skye had heard earlier this evening…and by now evening was well set – the sun was practically gone, everything was dark blue and black in color, the crickets and the night-time cicadas were out in force…and the owl fled up the tree into the foliage and was gone. (More noises came from there – clearly, the owl frightened someone else further up the tree as well). 

“Okay, this was exciting,” Skye blinked as she and Grant looked at the vanished owl’s path. “A nice change of pace from our usual mission…” she looked around, as the sun’s last rays came through the forest… and one of them landed on a stump. The snake from earlier this evening was half-lying there, its’ head raised, its’ tongue flickering and its eyes attentive and watchful.

“Um,” Skye looked at Grant. “I can’t really hurt it, can I?”

“No,” Grant looked at Skye, and then eyed the snake. “I guess that we owe you own – an appropriate one. Figure out what you want from us and S.H.I.E.L.D. and we’ll go from there.”

…Fortunately for Skye’s sanity, the snake did not reply in any manner – and the sun finally went down the horizon and the forest became completely dark, and the darkness swallowed the snake; at least Skye could no longer see it and she did not want to use her vibrations to sense it.

Instead, she and Grant went back home and had sex, and that was the end of it. At least for a while.

End


End file.
